The Starbuck Experience
by bigbangtheorysheldoncooper
Summary: When a new woman starts working at the University, the guys all seem to love her but Sheldon could not be more put out. AU
1. Chapter 1

Sheldon awoke at exactly 7:45 AM as he always did that dreary Monday morning. It was raining. He hated the rain. It made the bottoms of his pants wet and he did not enjoy the feeling of wet pant cuffs. He took a ten minute shower, dressed, and poured himself a bowl of cereal from the high fiber side of his cereal shelf. He sat in his usual spot on the couch and ate while waiting for Leonard to come out of his bedroom so they could drive to work like they had done for the past four or five years. He finished his cereal just as Leonard came out looking exhausted.

_Serves him right._ Sheldon thought to himself. _He shouldn't be engaging in coitus with Penny on work nights._

"Ready?" Sheldon asked as he pulled his rain coat on.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Leonard yawned, causing Sheldon to smile superiorly to himself. Such acts of intercourse were just ridiculous to him. _Why have such relations without the intent of procreation?_ The thought eluded him.

The car ride to the University was quiet, as Sheldon quite enjoyed. He rather hated when Leonard attempted 'small talk'. Once inside the building he bid his roommate farewell until lunch and headed to his office for a day of thinking.

The day had been going quite smoothly so far, much to Sheldon's satisfaction. He had arrived at lunch just in time to get in line behind Raj, Howard, and Leonard. He received his macaroni with tomato sauce and bits of beef, or "beefaroni", as Raj had called it and was nestled comfortably in his seat and was about to take his first bite of lunch when his arch enemy, Leslie Winkle, walked up to the table.

"Sup gentlemen?" She smirked, "And Sheldon?"

Sheldon merely sighed and glared while his comrades laughed.

"Nothing much, Leslie," Leonard replied. "What's new in the world of experimental physics?"

"Oh, you know, it's very experimental," she said dryly. "We've got a new babe though."

Howard perked up out of habit, regardless of his relationship with Bernadette he was still as horny as ever. "New babe?" He asked anxiously.

"Yeah, she just started. She's from New York. She used to teach at NYU, this is her actually, hey Katherine!" Leslie called across the room to a tall, slender brunette who had just entered the lunch room. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun and she wore a pair of thick black glasses over her blue eyes. She wore a pair of cargo pants and a superman t-shirt with a tie hung loosely around her neck. She smiled and waved at Leslie awkwardly and walked over.

"Hey," her voice was quite authoritative in contrast to her demeanor.

"Katherine, I want you to meet Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali, Leonard Hofstadter, and his delusional roommate, Sheldon Cooper," Leslie smirked at Sheldon again. "Guys, this is Dr. Katherine Thrice."

The guys all looked at her with a bit of disbelief.

Katherine smiled awkwardly, "Yeah…the name always gets me a bit of attention. I love "Battlestar" too. It's crazy close to the character's name, I know. You can call me Starbuck. Everyone back in New York did."

"I would not dare call you, someone who obviously has such a lax judge of character to be hanging out with this," Sheldon motioned to Leslie. "Starbuck. It would be an insult to the character. Scratch that! To the woman."

"Sheldon!" Leonard shook his head and shot him an angry look.

Sheldon just shrugged. Katherine looked at the table wide eyed, unsure of what to say.

"Just ignore him, he's an ass hat," Leslie reassured.

Sheldon glared at her once more and continued to eat his food.

"Why don't you two pull up a seat and eat with us?" Howard suggested with a sly smile. "You can sit next to me, Katherine. Or should I say, Starbuck." He smirked. Katherine cringed, but smiled all the same.

"Actually I already ate," Leslie said. "And I'd really rather not sit next to him." She pointed at Sheldon, who once again, ignored her and continued to eat. "Katherine, I'll see you back in the lab." And Leslie was gone.

Katherine smiled at the table awkwardly and grabbed a chair at the next table and sat at the head of the table between Sheldon and Leonard, not wanting to get too close to this Howard character.

"So, Dr. Thrice, what brings you to the University?" Leonard asked with a polite smile.

"Oh please, call me Katherine. Or Starbuck. Doctor makes me feel all grown up," she smiled. "I'm starting research on the idea that Chaos in Quantum Chromodynamics and the Hadron Spectrum can affect the universe, not just on a small scale, like previously proved."

Sheldon scoffed. Leonard threw him a look. Katherine turned toward Sheldon and as politely as she could asked, "And what, may I ask, is wrong?"

"Oh here we go," Howard groaned. The one known as Raj leaned over and whispered something in Howard's ear. "Yes, yes, we all know he's about to rant, Raj," Howard said out loud. Katherine would question that in a moment, but first, Sheldon had started to talk.

"It is impossible to prove something like that on a large scale without physically going into space and testing Chaos in Quantum Chromodynamics and the Hadron Spectrum across the universe," he said smugly.

Something dawned on Katherine at that moment. "You're Dr. Sheldon Cooper."

"Well yes, we established this about ten minutes ago," he replied matter-of-factly.

"You're the theoretical physicist who has spent the last six years trying to prove String Theory," Katherine was smiling now.

Sheldon glared at her, his left eye starting to twitch, "Why, may I ask, are you smiling like that?"

She continued to smile, "You can't prove it." And now Leonard, Howard, and Raj were taking great joy in watching this interaction.

"Excuse me?" Sheldon continue to stare at this woman.

Katherine cleared her throat and continued, "You can't prove string theory unless you can gather monopoles from the North Pole to confirm your theories, and if I recall correctly from your paper published two years ago, you didn't find anything."

Sheldon glared at her for another moment, stood with his tray, and said to Leonard, "I'm going back to my office. Don't let her sit with us again." And stomped off, leaving this new woman and his three best friends laughing.

"Katherine, that was awesome!" Howard exclaimed.

"Guys, we shouldn't poke fun at his misfindings," Leonard said with smile. "But it was pretty awesome, Starbuck."

Katherine smiled, "No, I shouldn't have done that. I'll go apologize. It really is very frustrating to have people say things like that about your research." She paused and stood to leave, "I should get back to work anyway. It was fun meeting you all."

"Wait!" Leonard said. "You're new in town, it would be rude not to invite you over for dinner with us." He gestured to the table. "You're welcome to come by tonight and eat and annoy Sheldon some more."

Katherine smiled, "I'd love to. Email me your address and I'll stop by after work. Seven o'clock alright?"

"Sounds great. See you tonight!" Leonard waved goodbye.

Sheldon was not pleased with this new woman at the University. She annoyed him. It had put him in a foul mood for the rest of the day. He gladly welcomed the end of the day and was very pleased to finally be home after a quiet drive home. He took his place behind his laptop at his desk and started to check his online forums and such.

"Hey guys!" Penny had just come marching in, her sunny disposition was all too irritating for Sheldon to handle right now.

"Why don't you ever knock?" he snapped.

"Ignore him," Leonard said while giving his girlfriend a peck on the lips. "He had a run in with a new theoretical physicist at the University today who basically owned his ass."

Penny smiled, "When do I get to meet her?"

"Tonight!" Leonard exclaimed happily.

"What?" Sheldon turned and stared at his roommate.

"Oh did I forget to mention? I invited Katherine to have dinner with us tonight," Leonard tried extremely hard to hide the smile crawling across his face.

Sheldon's left eye started to twitch once again, "Why? Why did you do that? You saw how rude she was to me at lunch today!"

"Precisely why I invited her," Leonard remarked back, no longer hiding his smile.

Sheldon glared and huffed a sigh of annoyance, "Well this is just great."

At that moment Raj, Howard, and Bernadette came through the door.

"Does no one knock anymore!?" Sheldon screeched marching off to his room.

"Chill dude, we brought Chinese," Howard yelled after him, taken aback while raising the familiar bag from Seshwan Palace.

"Great, come on in guys, Katherine should be here any minute," Leonard said, grabbing the bag from Howard. "Raj, want to help me get plates and cups for everyone? Penny, you think you can grab a chair or two from your apartment so we can fit everyone?"

Katherine locked her cherry red Vespa Scooter up to a telephone pole outside of Leonard and Sheldon's apartment building at 6:58.

_Perfect timing._ She smiled to herself and clipped her helmet to her messenger bag before entering the building. She was happy to have been invited to dinner. Back in New York she had a very close group of friends, also teachers at NYU, who she missed a great deal. She had to leave though. The city setting was just getting to be too much for her and she needed a change. She had gotten a call for Dr. Eric Gablehauser a few months back and after a bad break up from a fellow teacher she decided it was time to call him back and change her settings. She hoped tonight would be the first step in creating a new group of friends she could call "like family." She had trekked the four flights of stairs and knocked three concise times on apartment 4A's door. When the door opened she was greeted by a living room full of people. Katherine smiled, _Here we go._


	2. Chapter 2

"Katherine! I'm happy you made it here alright, easy to find?" Leonard smiled.

"Hi Leonard, yeah it was very easy to find. Thanks again for the invite. I brought wine," Katherine reached into her messenger bag and pulled out a bottle of red wine.

"Oh thanks, Katherine, you didn't have to do that," Leonard said taking the bottle and gesturing for her to come inside.

"Social protocol, I'd have been rude if I didn't bring it."

"Right…well thanks. Let me introduce you to Penny, my girlfriend," Leonard put his arm around the waist of a tall, curly haired blonde woman.

"Hi! Wow you're…well you aren't what I'd expect a physicist's girlfriend to look like. I mean-" Katherine felt embarrassed. Leonard laughed along with Penny.

Penny laughed, "Wine and compliments? I love you already." The two shook hands and smiled.

"Ah, Katherine, I'd like you to meet _my_ girlfriend, Bernadette," Howard said coming up from behind her. She too was blonde, but much shorter.

"Oh wow, it's nice to meet you!" Katherine paused for a moment. "You're stunning," Katherine kicked herself. _I must sound like an idiot._

Bernadette merely laughed, "It's nice to meet you."

"Uh, Katherine, sit down, please," Leonard offered. Katherine walked over to the sofa and proceeded to take a seat to the far left when the entire apartment reached their arms out and yelled. Katherine froze.

"What?" she questioned nervously.

"That's Sheldon's seat," they all replied in unison.

She smiled nervously, "Okay…" She sat down at the seat next to it and looked at Leonard, "You know, this way I can annoy him at a close proximity."

Leonard snorted and called for Sheldon to come out of his room, "We're about to eat, Sheldon!"

Sheldon emerged from his room and took his seat on the couch without acknowledging Katherine's presence.

She smiled at him, "Hello again, Dr. Cooper."

"Hello," he replied coldly.

"How's your seat?" she teased.

He turned to her, very concerned, "What did you do to my seat?"

She just smiled.

Penny sat down in the arm chair, "And you annoy Sheldon, where have you been all my life?"

"Leonard, what did she do to my seat?!" Sheldon's voice had gotten significantly higher.

"Nothing you lunatic," Leonard replied. "Now shut up and eat."

Katherine, Penny, and Bernadette were all getting along very well. Bernadette was very book smart, like Katherine, and Penny was very girly and into pop culture, which Katherine loved. She had grown up and worked in New York so she had to be at least a little "hip."

"No! Oh my god! NO! We have to go! All three of us, it'll be so much fun!" Penny was squeeling about a new dress shop that had just opened down town.

"Let's go Saturday!" Katherine agreed, smiling. Normally she would never do anything like this. While she did own a dress or two, they were for formal events only, possibly for dates, and the thought of going shopping was not very appealing to her but she wanted desperately to make friends with these people.

"Sounds great. Howard, I can't go to the movies with you on Saturday," Bernadette said smiling sweetly at her guy.

"While this talk is just riveting," Sheldon interjected. "I must excuse myself."

"Sheldon, sit down," Leonard said forcefully. "We have a guest. You can play nice for one night."

"Yeah, Sheldon," Katherine looked up at him and smiled. "Sit down. Play nice with me."

Sheldon glowered down at her and returned to his seat with a huff.

An awkward silence fell over the group.

"There's a stain on the rug," Sheldon said after staring at the same spot for some time.

This caused Katherine to laugh. Thinking of one of her favorite movies she said, "Do you like sex, Dr. Cooper?"

Sheldon's head snapped back and stared at her, "What?"

"Sex. The physical act of love. Coitus. Do you like it?" Katherine responded keeping as straight a face as she could.

"I was talking about my rug," Sheldon said innocently.

"You're not interested in sex?" Katherine inquired, a smile breaking across her face.

"You mean coitus?" Sheldon asked, feeling cornered.

Katherine burst out laughing at that moment. So did Penny and Raj. The others looked on completely and utterly confused. Katherine and Penny were laughing too hard to get out an explanation so Raj whispered into Howard's ear.

"It's from a movie called, "The Big Lebowski." It's a cult movie," Howard explained for the selective mute.

"It's a classic!" Penny exclaimed.

Katherine, still laughing a bit, "One of my favorites. And thank you, Dr. Cooper, you responded perfectly."

"Well I'm glad my discomfort pleased you," Sheldon replied dryly.

Katherine just chuckled and turned to Raj, "Raj, why do you whisper your thoughts into Howard's ear?"

Raj looked like a deer caught in headlights for a moment before Howard swooped in with the answer, "He has selective mute-ism. He can't speak to girls unless he's drunk."

"Oh," Katherine replied. "Well have some wine!" She smiled encouragingly.

Leonard and Penny caught each others' eyes and the two smiled. Penny mouthed, "I LOVE HER." And Leonard mouthed back, "TOLD YOU!" He knew that she was going to fit in perfectly.

Sheldon on the other hand felt extremely uncomfortable next to this woman. How dare she come into his home and compromise his seat and talk about sex all after she had spent the afternoon discriminating against his work as a physicist? No, this would not due. He did not want her around anymore. She was rude and made obscure references he did not understand.

"When are you leaving?" Sheldon asked bluntly, turning to Katherine.

"Sheldon!" Leonard looked mortified.

"Would you like me to leave, Dr. Cooper?" Katherine asked.

"Yes."

Katherine smiled and stood, "Okay."

"Katherine! Don't leave because of him!" Leonard pleaded. He would have to have a talk with Sheldon tonight.

"No, no, it's fine, Leonard," Katherine continued to smile. "Sheldon just needs to warm up to me. He's like a gorilla; doesn't like some new person in his habitat." She looked down at Sheldon who had his arms crossed and glared up at her, "I should be going anyway. It's getting a little late. It was so great meeting you, Penny and Bernadette, Raj, Howard, Leonard," she paused. "Dr. Cooper, I will see you all at work tomorrow," and just like that, she left the apartment.

"Sheldon, can we talk?" It was about an hour after everyone had left when Leonard approached his roommate.

"Leonard, I'm tired. Can't this wait until the morning?" Sheldon sighed coming out of the bathroom.

"No, it can't," Leonard replied. "You were extremely rude toward Katherine tonight, do you realize that?"

"Of course I realize that," Sheldon snapped. "She basically told me the work I'm doing at the University is pointless."

"You tell me that all the time, Sheldon."

"Yes, but in your case it's true."

Leonard huffed, "Sheldon, Katherine is new in town and isn't friends with many people and she and Penny and Bernadette get along, and for what it's worth, Howard, Raj, and myself all enjoy her company as well. So you should get past this little annoyance with her because she will be back, Sheldon."

"Good night, Leonard," Sheldon closed his door and waited till he heard Leonard turn with a scoff toward his own bedroom before going to his bed.

Sheldon sighed and lay down in his stripped blue pajamas. He realized Leonard was right. Katherine did get along with everyone he associated himself with and knew it would be much easier to just ignore the annoyance her presence set in him. She was, after all, at least a bit more enjoyable than Penny. She _did_ have a Ph.D. Sheldon sighed again and closed his eyes for a restless night of sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Katherine awoke the next morning in her one bedroom loft and rolled out of bed for a long shower. She was exhausted. After getting back from dinner last night, she spent a multitude of hours trying to come up with a formula that could test her theory. She was stuck. And she hated it. After her shower she wrapped her hair in a tight bun and put her black glasses on. She grabbed a pair of black cargo pants and a green lantern t-shirt, threw her male small black sports coat on and left for the University. On her way in, flashes of the night before danced in her head. She laughed to herself thinking of Dr. Cooper. _He's a funny character_. She thought to herself. She had read many of his papers throughout the past few years and was actually very impressed by his work. She had made the comment on her first day out of defense. It's how she was. If she felt her own work was being discredited she retaliated by doing the same. She actually felt very embarrassed by her behavior upon their first interaction. _Last night didn't help either…_ She promised herself to stop by his office today and apologize.

Sheldon stood in his office staring at a white board filled with equations. _Drat. I'm stuck._ He was so consumed by the equations scribbled across the board that he didn't even notice Katherine slip into the room. She stood in the doorway and he was finally brought out of his trance by her three concise knocks on the already opened door.

Sheldon jumped and stared at her for a moment before scoffing and turning back to his equations, "I'm busy."

Katherine smiled, "Don't mean to interrupt. I just came by to apologize."

Sheldon's interest was peaked. He turned, "I'm listening."

Katherine continued to smile, "I was very rude the past two encounters we've had. I'm here to offer an olive branch. Can we start over?" She extended her hand, "Hello, I'm Dr. Katherine Thrice. You can call me Katherine, or Starbuck, if you please."

Sheldon stared at her hand for a moment, "I don't like shaking people's hands unless I know they've just been disinfected."

Katherine lowered her hand and looked a bit hurt.

Sheldon looked down and shuffled a bit, "But all the same…hello. I am Dr. Sheldon Cooper and I won't call you Starbuck."

Katherine smiled at him, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Cooper. I look forward to our future encounters."

"As do I, Dr. Thrice. Now if you don't mind," he motioned to his white board.

"Right," she smiled and turned toward the door. "I'll see you at lunch, I suppose." And like that she was gone.

The week went by quietly. Katherine continued to eat lunch with Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj. She did enjoy their company and found Sheldon especially fascinating. He was a curious creature. She continued to be stuck in her work but she remained optimistic. She knew she'd have a break through soon; she could feel it. Soon enough Saturday rolled around and she found herself outside of Sheldon and Leonard's apartment building once again. She walked up to apartment 4B, right across the hall from the familiar apartment 4A, and knocked three concise times. A disheveled Penny swung the door open.

"Katherine! Are you early?" Penny said a bit out of breath.

"You said one o'clock," Katherine glanced down at her watch. One o'clock. She showed Penny her watch.

Penny smiled, reminded of Sheldon, "Right. Well, Bernadette had to go into work last minute so it'll just be the two of us. Come on in, give me like two minutes to get dressed."

Katherine entered the one bedroom apartment and tried hard not to cringe. There were clothes everywhere and it looked as if someone had ransacked the place while Penny was asleep.

"Sorry about the mess," Penny yelled from her bedroom.

"Oh, it's fine," Katherine shouted back, an obvious lie. Katherine stood right next to the front door. She hated a mess. She was a meticulous person and didn't want to delve into the apartment any further in fear she may lose a shoe among the clutter. Penny came out of her room wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a flower print top. Her hair had been pulled back into a poof and she had brushed on a light layer of makeup. She looked beautiful. It made Katherine feel a bit like a slob in her army green cargo pants and oversized black t-shirt, hair in her usual messy bun.

"Alright, all set," Penny smiled. "Let me just run across the hall and say bye to Leonard." Penny exited the apartment, Katherine close behind. They walked right into the apartment without knocking and found the boys perched on the couch watching the final season of "Battlestar Galactica". Katherine stood at the door and waited for Penny.

"We're heading to the dress shop now," Penny leaned down and gave Leonard a peck on the cheek. Katherine turned away; public displays of affection always made her feel uncomfortable. She stared contently at "Battlestar" instead.

"Well, have fun, guys," Leonard smiled.

"Yes, have a hoot in a hat," Sheldon said dryly. "Now if you don't mind I'm trying to watch the _real _Starbuck battle the cylon race."

Katherine smiled, "Hello to you too, Dr. Cooper."

"Yes, yes, pleasantries now get out," Sheldon snapped not taking his eyes off the TV.

"I think that's our cue to leave," Penny kissed Leonard once more and just like that, the two were gone.

"Here, try this, this, this, OH! And this one!" Penny piled dresses into Katherine's outstretched hands and pushed her into a dressing room. Katherine felt awkward. The dresses Penny had grabbed were a bit more revealing than she was used to wearing.

_I'm here to make friends. Suck it up._

The first of the four dresses she slipped on was a bright yellow and "washed her out", as Penny had put it. The second was a bright pink and even Katherine had to admit it was ugly as sin. The third was something Katherine would have enjoyed wearing. It was black, floor length, and was not too low cut at all. It was modest and plain, a lot like herself. But Penny insisted she try on the last dress. It was a short, cherry red cocktail dress. It hugged Katherine's curves and dipped dangerously low in the front and back showing a lot of skin. Katherine felt extremely out of place in this outfit. She wanted to put her cargo pants back on but Penny insisted Katherine come out of the dressing room and show her. Katherine opened the door slowly and did not step out. She stood in the doorway so only Penny could see it, no one else. Katherine tugged at the bottom of the dress trying to magically lengthen it to no avail.

"Holy crap on a cracker!" Penny exclaimed. "You look incredible!"

"Really?" Katherine crossed her legs and continued to tug at the dress.

Penny's eyes suddenly lit up with a mischievous glint, "Katherine?"

"Yeah?" Katherine responded, not liking where this may be going.

"Do you have contacts?"

"Yes…"

"We're going to have a little girls night, tonight."

"Great," Katherine responded enthusiastically closing the dressing room door. _Crap…_

"You know, I don't understand why you're so rude to Katherine, Sheldon," Leonard said.

"Yeah, dude, she's pretty cool," Raj continued.

"And she's a total babe, am I right?" Howard snickered.

Sheldon rolled his eyes, "I'm merely acting accordingly to my feelings."

"You're merely being an ass," Leonard retorted.

Sheldon huffed, "Well how would you like me to act? All buddy-buddy? With someone who compared themselves to _the_ Starbuck from _the _"Battlestar Galactica?" Please."

"She never compared herself to Starbuck," Raj defended. "She just said it was a nickname."

"Same difference," Sheldon said stubbornly.

"She's been nothing but pleasant toward you the past week," Leonard argued. "The least you could do is return the pleasantries."

Sheldon scoffed, "Fine." He paused, "But I won't be happy about it."

"I didn't think you would be," Leonard said rolling his eyes.

Suddenly, he heard his cell ringing. He glanced at the caller ID, "Oh it's Penny. Hey, how's it going?"

**"Hey! Really good."**

"That's great."

**"Yeah, listen do you think you and the guys would be up for going out tonight? To like a bar/club type thing?"**

"Uh…sure. What's the occasion?"

**"You'll see! I love you, bye!" _CLICK_**

"What was that all about?" Howard inquired.

"We're going out tonight!" Leonard replied happily.

"Oh good lord…" Sheldon muttered.

Katherine hadn't seen her reflection for about two and half hours now. The two drove to Katherine's apartment after each bought a dress from the new shop. Katherine, the red cocktail, much to her protest, and Penny, a short black mini skirt style dress with only one sleeve.

"Almost done," Penny muttered, her mouth gripping several bobby-pins.

"What time are we meeting the others?" Katherine inquired.

"In about an hour," Penny poked another bobby-pin into Katherine's head.

Katherine remained quiet, _I must look ridiculous._

"There!" Penny exclaimed. "You're ready, now don't touch your hair or face while I get ready."

Katherine stood up and stared at herself in her floor length mirror, _Wow._

"I'm not going," Sheldon protested.

"Sheldon, you're going. Now get dressed," Leonard argued. Raj and Howard had left a few hours ago to get ready and pick up Bernadette and they would be back soon.

"This is completely ludicrous," Sheldon retorted. "I don't drink. I don't dance. I don't like loud noises. I don't like being in close proximity to people who do any of those three things. And most importantly, I do not like Dr. Thrice."

"Sheldon!" Leonard shook his head.

Sheldon shrugged, "It's the truth."

"It's a social convention," Leonard blurted out. It was his go to excuse to get Sheldon to do things he normally never would.

"How so?" Sheldon crossed his arms.

"Katherine is new in town and it is our job to show her a night on the town," Leonard raised an eyebrow.

Sheldon was silent for a moment contemplating whether or not this was an acceptable answer, "Fine." And he marched off to his room.

"Wear your blazer!" Leonard cried after him, in which Sheldon replied by slamming his door.

"The party has arrived!" Howard came through the door, followed closely behind by Bernadette and Raj. Howard wore a tight pair of brown pants matched with a yellow turtle neck under a paisley shirt. Raj wore a pair of loose brown slacks and white t-shirt with a brown sports coat. Bernadette wore a modest knee length yellow summer dress with a white knitted sweater wrapped snuggly around her shoulders.

"Hey guys," Leonard smiled. He was dressed in dark brown slacks, a black shirt, and matching dark brown blazer. "Penny and Katherine should be here soon then we'll head out. Sheldon! You ready?" Sheldon emerged from his bedroom wearing a pair of black slacks, his famous Flash t-shirt, and black blazer.

He stared at them miserably, "Let's get this hell over with."

Just then Penny swung the door open, "Hey, guys!"

"Hey," Leonard gave her a peck on the cheek, "Where's Katherine?"

A smile spread across Penny's face, "You guys are gonna freak!" She turned and shouted into the hallway, "Katherine!"

Penny stepped aside and in her place stood Katherine, although it could have been a different person altogether by the looks of this woman. Katherine's hair, normally pulled back in a messy bun, hung loosely in a soft curl around her shoulders. Her brilliant blue eyes, which were normally hidden behind her thick black glasses, were dusted with a layer of black eyeliner and mascara. And her body! She was constantly in baggy cargo pants and t-shirts that the sight of her standing there in a tight red cocktail dress was breathtaking. The dress poofed at her waist and showed her long slender legs which were topped off by a pair of two inch black pumps. Penny had done a fantastic job. Katherine stood awkwardly, her hands clasped behind her back.

"Wow," Sheldon was the one to finally break the silence, causing everyone in the room to stare at him. He cleared his throat firmly, "You look lovely, Dr. Thrice."

Katherine smiled shyly, "As do you, Dr. Cooper."

The two locked eyes for a moment, a very fast moment, before Katherine clapped her hands together, "Shall we go?" And like that, the group was off.


	4. Chapter 4

Penny and Leonard were dancing with Bernadette and Howard while Raj sat at the end of the bar talking up two short brunettes. Katherine sat at the bar next to Sheldon, both silent sipping on their virgin diet Cuba Libras.

"I enjoyed your paper on subatomic particles you published last year," Katherine shouted over the loud music.

Sheldon perked up, "Sarcasm?"

"No," Katherine smiled. "Honestly, it was fantastic."

"Well thank you," Sheldon replied.

There was a pause.

"I've never read any of your papers," Sheldon said bluntly.

Katherine continued to smile, "I appreciate the honesty."

"Well, I wouldn't lie," Sheldon said matter-of-factly.

There was another silence.

Katherine played with her lime wedge. She hated bars. She wished she had brought her scooter.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Katherine asked suddenly.

Sheldon turned, "A walk?"

Katherine continued, "I just hate bars or clubs or whatever this is that we're at and I saw a park up the road so I just-"

"I could walk…"

Katherine smiled, "Great."

And just like that, the two stood and were gone.

Sheldon had no idea what he was doing out here with this woman. This woman drove him crazy. This woman discredited his work. This woman made him feel uncomfortable.

_So why are you out here with her?_ He sighed to himself and glanced sideways at her. She walked tall with her hands clasped behind her back, much to his surprise. She often walked slumped and was very clumsy. He recalled earlier in the week watching her trip in the lunch room and having to go buy another lunch. He smiled, _That was quite humorous_.

"It's beautiful tonight," Katherine said with a smile, looking up at the sky.

"Yes," Sheldon replied plainly.

A silence fell upon the duo once again.

_She looks so different, _Sheldon couldn't get it out of his head. He didn't think someone like Katherine could look so much like a, well a girl.

_She looks beautiful._ Where did that thought come from? Sheldon straightened up and stared straight ahead. It was the truth though. She looked very elegant, not hot, just downright classy. She was still very herself though, Sheldon noticed. On the car ride to the bar she sat awkwardly and made a few sarcastic comments like usual. He found himself respecting that about her. He liked that she didn't change just because her appearance did.

"You aren't like anyone else, are you Dr. Cooper?" Katherine said suddenly.

Sheldon turned and looked at her, snapped out of his own thoughts. No one had ever said that to him before, not that nicely at least.

"No, I'm not," he replied and looked back forward.

The two had arrived at the park and Katherine slipped her heals off and stepped onto the soft grass.

"Put your shoes back on," Sheldon exclaimed.

Katherine turned, "Why?"

"Do you have any idea how many animals have defecated here?" Sheldon's voice reached a much higher pitch than usual.

"No," Katherine replied innocently. "How many?"

Sheldon's left eye started to twitch, "A lot!"

Katherine smiled, "I'll scrub my feet extra hard tonight to make up for it."

Sheldon's eye continued to twitch but he kept quiet.

Katherine smiled to herself and walked over to the jungle gym, climbed the tall ladder and grasped onto the monkey bars, swinging to each bar. It was pretty high off the ground, much to her surprise, tall enough where Sheldon could stand beneath her with ease, which he now was.

Sheldon looked up at her, "Don't fall."

"I won't," Katherine reassured.

"Good," Sheldon responded. "I won't catch you."

Katherine smiled and dropped down on the ladder opposite the one she had just climbed and reached the ground. She enjoyed playgrounds, it made her feel like a child again; at ease. Katherine leaned against the ladder, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The smell of summer sifted through her nostrils. She was enjoying the warm weather of California.

Sheldon watched her sit at ease in the moonlight. He stood awkwardly off to the side staring at her. She opened her eyes suddenly and turned to him. Sheldon looked away. When he looked back she had started walking toward him. She stood in front of him, very close. He looked down at her. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Her proximity made him feel uncomfortable, uneasy.

"I like your nose," she smiled up at him.

Sheldon realized how tall she was even without her high heals on. The tip of her head reached his nose, much taller than most of the females he interacted with.

"I like your…ears," he blurted out. _Well that was stupid_.  
She continued to smile, "Would you like to go on the swing set?"

Sheldon looked down at her, _She is rather strange, isn't she?_ "Sure."

She turned and walked toward the swing set, taking the one on the far right. Sheldon followed taking the swing next to hers. She kicked her heals up and started to swing her legs back and forth until she was going a nice speed. Sheldon just sat in his swing, not moving, just staring at her.

"You have to kick your legs!" She shouted as she swung past him.

"I'm well aware of how a swing works, Katherine," Sheldon said bitterly.

She slowed her swing down until it stopped, "You haven't called me Katherine before."

Sheldon shifted, "Yes well…" He didn't really have an answer as to why.

Katherine smiled and hopped off her swing and stood behind Sheldon's, "Hold on."

"Excuse me?" Sheldon went to turn around but he suddenly felt her hands, her warm hands, on the small of his back. He gripped the chain-links on either side of him and felt her push with all her might. Again, and again, and again. Soon enough Sheldon was soaring. He could hear her laughing as he held on tightly, terrified. He hated swings and he was sure she knew that before she even started to push him.

"Please, cease and desist!" Sheldon shouted in an all too high voice.

Katherine laughed again, "Don't be scared!" She pushed harder, "Let yourself fly!"

Sheldon closed his eyes and felt his stomach do flips, "I am going to be sick!"

He no longer felt her hands on his back and he felt himself slowing down. He sighed with relief. He dragged his feet on the ground to steady himself as the swing finally stopped moving. Katherine stood in front of him now, a smile dancing on her lips. Sheldon glared at her, causing her to chuckle to herself.

"I did not appreciate that," Sheldon snapped bitterly.

Katherine's smile faded, she reached her hand to his, "I'm sorry."

Sheldon looked at her hand suspiciously for a moment before taking it. Once on his feet he didn't let go right away, and neither did she. She looked into his eyes again and smiled. Sheldon could feel his stomach squirming. _Must be because of the swing,_ he insisted in his head. They stood there for a moment staring at each other until suddenly, "THERE THEY ARE! HEY KATHERINE! SHELDON!"

The two dropped each others' hands and turned. Leonard was outside the bar waving down the street, "WE'RE GONNA GO! COME ON!"

Katherine turned back to Sheldon, "Shall we?"

Sheldon shuffled alongside her, and just like that, the two faded away into the darkness, away from the park, and back to reality.


	5. Chapter 5

"What were you and Katherine doing alone in that park, Sheldon?" It was the next morning and Leonard and Sheldon were both standing in the kitchen drinking tea.

"It was loud and Kath-Dr. Thrice suggested we go for a walk, so I went," Sheldon said plainly.

Leonard stared at his roommate, "I thought you hated Katherine."

"I never said I hated her," Sheldon retorted. "I merely said I did not like her. Hate is much too strong a word to use."

"Still," Leonard continued. "It's surprising to hear you went with her willingly."

Sheldon sighed, "As I said already, it was loud and I didn't want to be sitting there anyway. Dr. Thrice merely gave me a way out. That's all."

"Alright…" Leonard said still looking at his oddball roommate. After all, Leonard knew any other man who would have been where Sheldon was last night, alone with Katherine, would have a much better story. But then again, Sheldon was not any other man.

"Now if you don't mind," Sheldon poured himself a bowl of cereal. ""Doctor Who" is about to start."

Sheldon stared contently at the television, not really absorbing anything. He wasn't sure what exactly happened last night. Katherine was nothing more than herself, he supposed. She was, after all, just escaping the noise of the bar as well. Nothing more. _Oh stop it_, he told himself. _You're being ridiculous_. Sheldon felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He paused a moment, put his cereal down and glanced at who it was. He didn't recognize the number but picked up anyway, it drove him crazy when people didn't answer their phones.

"Hello?"

**_"Sheldon! It's Katherine!"_** She sounded a bit out of breath.

"Oh…hello…" Sheldon felt extremely awkward speaking with her while Leonard was in the room. "How did you get this number?"

He heard her laugh, **_"The office directory. Sorry, I didn't think you'd mind. I was calling to ask if you wanted to go to lunch?"_**

"Lunch?" Sheldon watched Leonard perk up and stare at him. Sheldon turned his body away from Leonard, "Well I-"

_**"I have some equations I'd like your opinion on."**_

Sheldon paused a moment, "Yes, I suppose I could-"

**_"Great! I'll stop by your place and pick you up at twelve. Thank you, Sheldon." *CLICK*_**

Sheldon closed his phone and stared straight ahead.

"Who was that?" Leonard inquired.

"Dr. Thrice," Sheldon replied.

"You two are going to lunch?" Leonard was in shock.

"Apparently…" Sheldon looked down at his phone. What was this woman doing to him?

Katherine packed up her messenger bag with a wide smile. She had made a huge break through with her theory last night. She had equations, something she'd be able to test! When she returned from her night out she passed her white board and something clicked. She distinctly remembered thinking of the swing, of Sheldon, of his scared voice, something about being in that park with him helped her brain realize what was missing. She wanted to thank him but she knew he'd never go to lunch if she didn't tempt him with proving her wrong.

She pulled up to the building at 11:58, walked up the four flights and knocked three concise times on apartment 4A's door. Sheldon opened the door.

"Hello, Dr. Thrice," Sheldon stood there awkwardly in his green lantern t-shirt and dark brown pants.

She smiled and looked up at him through her thick black glasses, "Hello, Dr. Cooper. Ready to head out?"

"You're late," he replied dryly.

Katherine glanced at her watch, "12:01. My apologies."

Sheldon closed the door and the two walked down stairs in silence. Once outside, Katherine walked to her scooter.

"No, no, no, no, no," Sheldon stood stubbornly at the front door to the building.

Katherine turned, "What?"

"I refuse to ride on the back of one of those," Sheldon pointed disgustingly at the vespa.

"It's safe," Katherine reassured. "Look, I even have an extra helmet for you."

She smiled encouragingly.

Sheldon approached the scooter cautiously and after a moment of inspecting it grabbed the helmet out of Katherine's hands, "We go any faster than ten miles an hour and I'll scream." Katherine smiled and put her helmet on, Sheldon doing the same. The two hopped on and Katherine revved the engine, causing Sheldon to wrap his hands tightly around her waist. It gave her butterflies. _Odd…_ She shrugged it off and started down the road.

"This is too fast!" Sheldon screeched in her ear. Katherine laughed and ignored his continuous pleas to slow down the whole way to the restaurant.

The two pulled up to The Cheesecake Factory just before one.

_Damn California traffic,_ Katherine thought to herself.

She hopped off the bike and watched as Sheldon took tentative steps off trying to reach a balance on solid ground again. She smiled at him as he finally took his helmet off. Her smile was met with his usual glare.

"That wasn't funny," he snapped.

She chuckled lightly and walked into the restaurant, Sheldon close behind.

Penny greeted them at the door, "Hey you two!" She grabbed five menus and went to Sheldon's usual table, "Where are the rest of the guys?"

"It's just the two of us actually," Katherine corrected sitting across from Sheldon.

"Oh," Penny looked between the two of them. "OH! Got it," she smiled and winked at Katherine.

Katherine stared at her confused for a moment.

"She thinks we're on a date," Sheldon chimed in. "Which is just absolutely absurd."

Katherine blinked a few times, "What he said."

Penny stared at the two of them, "Right well…Drinks?"

"Water for myself," Katherine replied staring down at her menu.

"Diet coke, Sheldon?" Penny inquired.

"Why do you even ask?" Sheldon retorted.

"I'll be back in a second to take your orders," and like that, Penny was gone.

Katherine looked over the menu, humming Mozart's piano concerto Number 7.

"I love that piece," Sheldon piped up.

Katherine looked across the table, "Do you play?"

"Piano? Yes," Sheldon paused. "Do you?"

"Piano? No," Katherine paused. "I play violin."

"Hm…" Sheldon put his menu at the edge of the table and patiently awaited Penny's return.

"We should play together sometime," Katherine said after a moment.

"Why would we do that?" Sheldon questioned.

Katherine shrugged, "It might be fun."

"I don't see how," Sheldon said bluntly.

"It was just a suggestion," Katherine folded her menu as well and placed it on top of Sheldon's.

Sheldon sat in silence for a moment, "We could tonight, I suppose…"

Katherine smiled, "I'd like that."

"Alright…" Sheldon shifted. "Are we going to discuss your paper or what?"

Katherine smiled and pulled out her studies.

"I'm telling you, Leonard, they're laughing! _Laughing!_" Penny sat on The Cheesecake Factory phone with Leonard, watching Katherine and Sheldon from across the restaurant.

_**"Sheldon doesn't laugh, Penny, he breathes condescendingly," Leonard said from the other side.**_

"Well I know what I'm seeing, Leonard, they are laughing. Really laughing, and OH MY GOD! SHE'S TOUCHING HIS HAND! LEONARD HE'S NOT FREAKING OUT!" Penny was smiling widely watching the two.

_**"What has Katherine done to Sheldon?" Leonard said also smiling.**_

"I don't know, but I hope it continues," Penny said before bidding her boyfriend farewell and getting back to work.

The two sat alone in Sheldon's apartment hours later. Leonard was out with Penny for the night and the two welcomed the silence. Sheldon sat behind the keyboard that normally sat in his bedroom, now brought out to the living room where Katherine sat quietly.

"What do you want to play?" Sheldon asked after a few minutes had passed.

Katherine opened her violin case, "Do you know any Billy Joel?"

"Very contemporary, but yes," Sheldon replied running his long, slender fingers lightly across the white and black keys.

"_And So It Goes_?" Katherine rested the violin on her shoulder.

Without another word Sheldon pressed his fingers on the keys and started to play the beginning chords of the song. It was a simple melody, normally only played with piano, but when Katherine came in with her violin Sheldon felt chills run across his body. This beautiful tune was almost haunting, just devastatingly sad. He closed his eyes and lost himself in this moment with her. His eyes snapped open, however, at the sound of her voice singing softly beneath the music.

"In every heart there is a room  
A sanctuary safe and strong  
To heal the wounds from lovers past  
Until a new one comes along…"

Her voice was so soft and sullen, as though she were afraid if she sang too loud he'd stop playing. Sheldon cleared his throat and sang softly with her.

"I spoke to you in cautious tones  
You answered me with no pretense  
And still I feel I said too much  
My silence is my self defense…"

Their voices strung together in a soft harmony that ran throughout the apartment.

"And every time I've held a rose  
It seems I only felt the thorns  
And so it goes, and so it goes  
And so will you soon I suppose…"

Katherine's voice faded and left Sheldon to sing the next verse alone.

"But if my silence made you leave  
Then that would be my worst mistake  
So I will share this room with you  
And you can have this heart to break…"

He stopped singing this time and she picked up the next verse, still soft, and so beautiful.

"And this is why my eyes are closed  
It's just as well for all I've seen  
And so it goes, and so it goes  
And you're the only one who knows…"

Sheldon came back in and the two sang the last verse together in perfect harmony.

"So I would choose to be with you  
That's if the choice were mine to make  
But you can make decisions too  
And you can have this heart to break  
And so it goes, and so it goes  
And you're the only one who knows…"

The two sat in silence for a moment. Katherine opened her eyes slowly to find Sheldon looking up at her. She felt butterflies in her stomach.

"Wow, you guys!" They snapped their heads to the door where Leonard and Penny stood, both smiling like fools.

"That sounded beautiful!" Penny exclaimed.

Katherine blinked a few times and cleared her throat, her cheeks tinged pink, "Well I should be going." She placed her violin into its case swiftly and grabbed her messenger bag, "See you tomorrow at work, Dr. Cooper. Goodbye Leonard, Penny." And like that, she was gone. Sheldon didn't move from his bench, continuing to stare at Katherine as she left. Leonard gave Penny a peck on the lips and she left the boys alone.

"Leonard," Sheldon finally spoke.

"What?" Leonard replied taking his coat off.

"You need to drive me to the hospital," Sheldon said bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Leonard turned.

"I think I'm having a stroke. My heart is pounding, I feel flushed, I'm sweating, and I feel as though I can't breathe. I need medical assistance," Sheldon yelped.

Leonard laughed, "I don't think you're having a stroke, Sheldon."

"I hardly believe you're qualified to make that assessment," Sheldon snapped.

Leonard shook his head, "Sheldon, did you ever think, maybe, just maybe, you like Katherine?"

"Dr. Thrice? Well of course I like her, Leonard, I wouldn't be spending time with the woman if I hated her, would I?" Sheldon replied dryly.

"No you ass," Leonard retorted. "Like her as more than just a colleague or friend. As something more, maybe?"

Sheldon stared off for a moment, "Well I hadn't thought of that." After another moment of stillness and silent calculations in his head, "Oh my goodness! I like Dr. Thrice!" He turned to Leonard, "Why didn't you tell me?"

The two turned to the door at the sound of Katherine's three concise knocks. Leonard opened the door.

"Sorry, I left my keys," Katherine walked to the coffee table and picked up her forgotten keys.

She turned to leave but Sheldon said suddenly, "Katherine, I like you."

Katherine turned and blinked, wide eyed, "Excuse me?"

"We should go on a date," Sheldon said bluntly.

Katherine felt her throat tense but managed to say, with a smile, "Okay."

"Come over Saturday night. Bring Tai food," Sheldon said still standing still and staring at her.

"Alright," Katherine replied feeling herself go red. "Well I should go, good night." And like that she was gone.

"Sheldon!" Leonard exclaimed with an amused smile dancing across his lips. "You have a date!"

"Well yes, Leonard," Sheldon replied dryly. "You were standing right there when it happened."


	6. Chapter 6

Saturday night came faster than usual, Sheldon thought as he paced back and forth in his living room, being watched by Raj, Leonard, Penny, and Howard.

"Relax, Sheldon," Leonard said encouragingly. "You'll be fine."

"I don't know what I was thinking listening to you," Sheldon snapped.

"To me?" Leonard asked in shocked confusion.

"Yes!" Sheldon exclaimed. "I was perfectly happy thinking I was having a stroke."

"Sheldon, sweety, you'll be fine," Penny reassured with a smile. "I promise. Just be yourself!"

"Are we sure that's a good idea?" Howard asked.

"Yes, Howard, it is," Leonard said shaking his head. "She wouldn't have agreed to this if she didn't like you too, Sheldon."

"Yes, well-" but Sheldon was cut off by Katherine's three concise knocks they all had grown so accustomed to. The group all stared at Sheldon as he opened the door.

"Hello," Sheldon said simply, standing in his dark brown pants and superman t-shirt.

"Hello," Katherine replied dressed in a pair of dark blue cargo pants and flash t-shirt.

"Come in," Sheldon said to Katherine, moving aside. "Get out," He turned to his friends who were all still staring at the two.

"Oh, but I want to watch!" Howard pleaded.

"Come on, guys," Leonard said pushing everyone out. "Have fun you two." And like that, they were gone, leaving Sheldon and Katherine alone.

Katherine placed the Tai food on the coffee table in the living room and took a seat next to Sheldon's spot. She looked up at him and smiled nervously, patting his seat softly with her hand indicating him to sit next to her. Sheldon sat down without saying a word and started to pull out the food but stopped.

He turned to Katherine, "I don't know what the social protocol is on dates."

Katherine smiled encouragingly, "Neither do I." She looked at the television, "Let's just eat and watch Star Trek."

Sheldon relaxed and continued to serve the two of them dinner. Once Star Trek appeared on the screen, the two relaxed quite a bit. They ate, they argued over trivial show trivia, they laughed, they were enjoying each others' company. Sheldon could feel the stroke like symptoms emerge in himself every time the two brushed hands for another scoop of rice, or when she would laugh, or smile, or look at him. He was quite taken with her and he didn't know it at that moment but she was quite taken with him as well. Hours passed by and it was soon nearing midnight.

"I should go," Katherine said standing.

"Right," Sheldon stood as well. "Do we kiss now?"

"Excuse me?" Katherine was a bit taken back.

"I've found through studying television shows, movies, and the social protocol my comrades follow that a kiss is usually shared at the end of a date," Sheldon replied innocently.

Katherine smiled softly, "Do you want to kiss me, Sheldon?"

Sheldon stared at her for a moment in complete silence. He wanted to experience it, yes, but he just wasn't sure how to act in a situation like this. Katherine approached him and lightly brushed an eyelash from his cheek, letting her hand linger in the back of his neck. When he made no motion of removing her hand, she reached the other one up and laced her fingers at the back of his neck. She stood on her toes and delicately placed the smallest, most innocent of kisses on his lips. She stayed for just a moment before lowering herself down, but his lips did not leave hers. He followed her down, placing his hands lightly on her hips. Katherine stayed locked to him. The kiss must have went on for days, the longest closed mouth kiss in history, and it was the only thing either one of them wanted. It was enough.


	7. Chapter 7

The weeks went by quite nicely after that. Katherine and Sheldon spent every Saturday night together, eating Tai food, watching Star Trek, and with the end of the night came the same, closed mouth kiss the two enjoyed sharing so much. Sheldon was very fond of Katherine. He loved her smile, her laugh, her eyes, everything. He was, even though he'd never admit it, falling in love with her. It was another Saturday night, one about five weeks after their original date, and Sheldon sat waiting patiently in his living room for Katherine's three distinct knocks. She was late, but Sheldon waited quietly, staring at the door. Waiting. But her knocks never came.

"So she stood you up? It's happened to me about a dozen times," Howard shrugged. The boys were all sitting in the living room the next day playing Halo.

"Howard, I severely doubt Katherine stood him up. I bet she got a call from Adama and had to protect the human race from being destroyed by cylon invaders," Raj smiled.

"Clever," Leonard rolled his eyes. "Look, Sheldon I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation why she wasn't here. Maybe her scooter didn't start!"

"Then why didn't she call?" Sheldon protested.

"Maybe she had a family emergency," Raj suggested more seriously.

"She doesn't have any family here, they all live on the east coast," Sheldon retorted.

"So maybe she flew to the east coast!" Howard exclaimed.

"Then why didn't she call?" Sheldon said simply.

"Look, I'm sure she'll call you, Sheldon, just relax," Leonard replied calmly. All of a sudden the phone rang, "See I bet that's her! Hello?" Leonard answered the phone, "Yes he's right here, _Katherine_! Hold on. See? I told you!" Leonard tossed the phone to Sheldon and sat back down to finish Halo.

Sheldon walked to the kitchen, "Hello?"

_**"Sheldon! I'm sorry about last night!" Even through the phone Sheldon could smell her.**_

"It's alright," he lied. He was rather upset she didn't show up.

_**"Look, do you think I can come by and we can talk?" Katherine sounded distracted.**_

"Of course, when?" Sheldon asked.

_**"Now?" Katherine replied. "I'm standing outside your building."**_

Sheldon walked back across the living room and out the far window. There stood Katherine waving, a tall man standing next to her.

"Who's that?" Sheldon asked still staring down at the two.

_**"Can we talk in person, please?" Katherine pleaded.**_

"Fine, come on up," Sheldon hung up the phone and stood near the door, waiting for her knocks. This time they came.

Sheldon opened the door to find Katherine alone, the tall man had not followed her, "Hey." She smiled.

"Hello," Sheldon replied quite coldly.

"Look, Sheldon, about last night-" Katherine started.

"I'm listening," Sheldon stared down at her.

"Sheldon, I'm going back to New York," Katherine blurted out.

"What?" Sheldon stood there stunned. "Why?"

"Sheldon…I left New York because my husband and I were in the middle of a trial separation and I couldn't be in the same city with him. I saw him everywhere. So I left and I came here and I met you and you're incredible, Sheldon, you really are," she paused and stared at her feet.

"But?" Sheldon was able to squeak out.

"But I can't just give up on my marriage. He's here to bring me back and to give us another shot and I just can't walk away from that…I'm sorry," Katherine looked into his eyes.

Sheldon stayed silent for a moment, "Good luck."

"Thank you," Katherine continued to stare at him for a moment longer before reaching up on her toes and placing a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. She looked at him one more time, and like that, she was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

The weeks went by more slowly than usual, Sheldon thought. The University was the enemy now. Instead of looking forward to hours alone in his office, he hated the deafening silence that room brought him. He hated lunch more than anything. He sat in silence everyday as his friends bantered around him. He hated that there was no longer a seat for Katherine at the table. He hated Leslie Winkle, more so than usual, because she now reminded him of the first time he had met Katherine. He hated Tai food because it reminded him of his old Saturday nights with Katherine. And most importantly, most devastatingly, he hated **Star Trek** because he wanted nothing more than to call Katherine up and tease her about trivial trivia like they used to do. He was miserable. His friends tried to cheer him up with extra trips to the comic book store or creating an extra Halo night to their weekly routine, all too conveniently on his now free Saturday nights. They all knew why she left and they all agreed that Sheldon was better off without her.

"Who does that?" Leonard spat.

"Seriously, dude, you're better off without her," Raj smiled half heartedly.

"She was just too hot for you, man," Howard would always receive death glares for his comments.

No matter how much the gang tried to convince Sheldon otherwise, he knew in his heart that she was a once in a lifetime catch. He wanted nothing more than to have her back. But he remained quiet. And that's what worried his friends most, that he hadn't spoken after the night she left. He had walked back into the apartment, explained what had happened, and spent the rest of the night in his bedroom with the door shut, refusing to let any of his friends inside. He didn't want to talk to anyone but her, and he knew that he couldn't and it was killing him. It had been almost a month and a half since she'd left and the most Sheldon had spoken was a polite "Hello" or "Yes" or "No." That was it.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

So since I had so many emails about the ending, I decided to continue the story. I have a new ending in mind and a great little storyline to get there so for now, here is chapter eight of this little saga. Enjoy! :)


	9. Chapter 9

**_Author's Note:_** So I just wanted to apologize for the short chapters lately. It's my last week of school and I have finals and such like crazy but I promise once this week is over the chapters will be much longer and much more frequent. Until then, enjoy! :)

* * *

"We can't ignore this any longer, you guys," Penny stood with her hands on her hips, very motherly like in front of her three best friends.

"What would you like us to do, Penny?" Leonard tried to argue.

"He's mourning," Howard backed him up.

"He's hurt and you guys aren't doing anything," Penny crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow.

Raj leaned over and whispered into Howard's ear, causing Howard to laugh.

"What?" Penny narrowed her eyes.

Howard averted his gaze, "He said you looked like Andromeda from DC Comics Legion of Super Heroes…"

"Oh," Penny glanced at Leonard to see if that was a compliment, he nodded yes, and Penny smiled momentarily. "Thank you, Raj."

Raj smiled nervously and stared at his feet.

"Penny, we understand that he is hurting but what do you want us to do about it? He's Sheldon! He's going to be miserable as long as he wants," Leonard said standing and moving to the kitchen.

"He never got closure guys!" Penny argued. "He never got to tell her how he felt! She just left. Gone."

"So what do you want him to do? Fly to New York and confront her?" Howard said sarcastically.

"That's such a great idea!" Penny exclaimed clapping her hands.

"Are you out of your mind?" Leonard came storming back in from the kitchen. "Penny, he can't go to New York and see her!"

"Why not?" Penny demanded. "He needs closure, Leonard, or he's never going to get passed this!"

"Penny he can't-" but Leonard was cut off.

"I want to go," They all snapped their heads to the hallway where Sheldon stood.

"Sheldon," Leonard looked embarrassed. "We thought you were at the comic book store…"

"I want to go to New York to see her," he said again.

Penny smiled reassuringly, "We'll all go, Sheldon. You won't be alone."

But he didn't say another word, he just nodded and went back to his room and started to pack for his trip to see her again. He had no idea what he was thinking going there but he knew he had to.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author's Note:**_

Again, so sorry for the lack of updates guys. School has officially ended for me but I've been working a lot of hours these past two weeks. I finally got my schedule worked out and have some nice days off so I promise the updates will be coming more frequently and in much much longer installments. Until then, enjoy this quick chapter! :)

* * *

"Sheldon, be reasonable," Leonard was standing in Sheldon's doorway.

"I am being reasonable, I think the word you meant to use was rational," Sheldon retorted labeling his socks and cataloging them on his laptop.

Leonard sighed and threw his head back, "Sheldon, you can't even get on a plane!"

"I've come to the conclusion that I, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, am not afraid of flying anymore," Sheldon continued without looking up.

"Oh really? And how did that come about?" Leonard crossed his arms.

"A fear of flying is irrational and for common people and if Penny, a mere waitress, can do it, than so can I," Sheldon typed in another code for his socks.

"Sheldon, what if she doesn't want to see you," Leonard blurted out.

Sheldon paused his movements for a moment, "I need to see her, Leonard." His voice was so sure and commanding that Leonard sighed dejectedly and went to his room to pack.

The flight to New York was one of ease, mostly because Penny had been smart enough to spike Sheldon's coke a cola with cough medicine which promptly knocked him out for the six hour flight to JFK Airport. Leonard was worried about Katherine's reaction to seeing them all, especially Sheldon, at NYU but he didn't say anything. Raj and Howard were both slightly buzzed by the time they landed and would not stop talking about hitting up some club in the Village that Howard had read about online. Penny played the mother to them all, making sure everyone had their luggage, getting a taxi to the hotel that she had booked for them to stay in that week, and most of all, calming Sheldon down when he realized he had been drugged.

"Penny! This is unacceptable!" he screeched.

"Would you relax? I didn't want you having a panic attack on the plane you big freak!" she argued back.

"YOU DRUGGED ME!" Sheldon was squished between Raj, Leonard and Howard in the back seat yelling to the front seat where Penny sat comfortably next to the cab driver.

She sighed, "I'm sorry, sweety, when we go back I promise not to drug you, okay?"

He stared at her suspiciously for a moment but eventually peeped out, "Fine."

When they arrived at the hotel, Penny had booked two rooms, both with two twin sized beds in each. Sheldon, Penny, and Leonard took one room, while Howard and Raj took the other. It was almost midnight by the time they had made it to the hotel that night so they all went straight to bed. Sheldon, however, spent the night wide awake, staring at the ceiling trying to figure out what the hell he was going to say to Katherine the next morning.


	11. Chapter 11

Sheldon had gotten out of bed sharply at six am and took a ten minute shower, brushing his teeth for exactly one minute and thirty seconds, before pulling on his red flash t-shirt that he knew she used to love and a pair of light brown slacks. He stared at Penny and Leonard who were nestled happily in each other's arms sleeping soundly. He felt a pang of something he wasn't too used to feeling; jealousy. He had felt this before of course, only at select moments in his childhood or in his career over the years. He had never felt it like this, however. He wanted what Leonard had with Penny. Of course not exactly like them, but he wanted a relationship, a real relationship with Katherine. He wanted to tell people she was his and no one else's, and for a short moment back a few weeks ago when she was still in California with him he thought that's what he could say.

_She was never yours,_ a mocking voice chimed in his head. He clenched his fists and left the hotel room swiftly, closing the door quietly to be sure not to wake the sleeping couple inside.

* * *

He stared at the subway map intently, trying to figure out exactly where he should be going.

_This is ridiculous,_ he thought to himself. _You're Dr. Sheldon Cooper. You can figure out public transportation._

"You lost?" a voice piped up behind him.

Sheldon jumped slightly and turned, "Excuse me?"

A short girl with a bright orange bob stood behind him, a backpack slung loosely around one of her shoulders, "You've been staring at that map for like ten minutes."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration," Sheldon snapped.

She smirked, freckles danced across her pale face, "Where are you trying to get to?"

Sheldon stared at her suspiciously for a moment, "New York University."

She chuckled, "Which department? The campus is huge and there are a few different subway lines you can take depending on where you're trying to get to."

Sheldon blinked, he hadn't known that, "Experimental Physics."

The stranger smiled, her bright emerald eyes sparkling with a glint of happiness, "That's where I'm heading. I have a class at seven, come on, I'll get you to where you have to go."

Sheldon did not move from where he stood. The girl stopped when she realized he wasn't following and turned, she smiled reassuringly, "I promise I won't rape or murder you."

Sheldon cleared his throat, "Yes well, I should warn you I'm a master in Vulcan Hand Combat."

The girl smiled and raised her hand in the all too familiar Vulcan hand greeting, "Live long and prosper." She then extended her hand, "I'm Amy."

Sheldon stared at her hand, "I don't shake hands unless I know they've just been sanitized."

She lowered her hand, "Right." The subway train pulled up to the platform and Amy gestured to the opening doors, "You coming?"

Sheldon glanced back at the map and in a split second hopped onto the train before the doors closed. Amy smiled at him.

"Dr. Sheldon Cooper," he said after a moment of silence.

"Nice to meet you, Sheldon," Amy said, taking a seat.

"It's Dr. Cooper, to you," Sheldon said arrogantly sitting beside her.

Amy smirked, "Nice to meet you, Dr. Cooper."

The rest of the train ride was spent in silence and after four stops Amy led Sheldon out of the underground tunnel and out to the bustling streets of New York City. Sheldon kept a fast pace behind the stout girl who was walking surprisingly fast despite her height.

"Who are you trying to see?" She said over her shoulder, still walking briskly.

The question took Sheldon off guard, "Dr. Katherine Thrice." Her named alone caused his throat to tense up.

"She's always in lecture hall number three, I've never had her but a few of my friends have, they all seem to think she's cool. You a friend of her's or something like that?"

Sheldon cleared his throat, "Something like that, yes."

The two entered a large building with glass doors. A security guard stood just inside and checked Amy's bag and asked for her student ID before letting her through.

"And where is your student ID?" The large man grabbed Sheldon's arm, stopping him from following Amy.

"Oh, he's visiting a teacher, he's a doctor or something," she assured the security guard. She turned to Sheldon, "Show him some ID or something."

Sheldon fumbled with his wallet for a moment, pulling out his ID from the University back in California. The security guard wasn't exactly pleased with it but allowed him through with Amy after she promised to bring him a coffee after she got out of class.

"Thank you," Sheldon said after a moment of silent walking with her.

She smiled back at him, "He's a douche. Don't worry about it." She stopped outside of a classroom, "This is my stop, just take a right up ahead and your friend's classroom will be on the left. See ya." And like that, she disappeared into the room, leaving Sheldon alone in the hallway.

He stood there for a moment in silence before starting down the hallway. He took a right at the end of the hall like Amy had instructed and found Lecture Hall Number Three. Her name was scrolled across a placard that hung proudly on the wall underneath the room number. _**Doctor Katherine Thrice: Experimental Physics. **_He brought his hand up to knock on the door but froze. His throat felt tight and suddenly he realized just how completely mad he was for coming here. He shouldn't have come to New York. He should have stayed in California. He should have let her go back to her life, to her husband. _Her husband._ She was married. And suddenly everything started to hit Sheldon at once. She was never his, she was always someone else's and he was an idiot to think he had a chance of getting her back by coming here. He was an idiot for-

"Sheldon?" A voice came from down the hall. He turned and it felt as though he had been thrown into an ocean of ice cold water.

His voice was weak when he finally called back, "Katherine."


	12. Chapter 12

**_Author's Note:_** This is not the final installment! So enjoy and expect more to come. :)

* * *

"What are you doing here?" she looked just as beautiful as she always did in nothing more than a Green Lantern shirt and black slacks. He stayed standing at her door, watching her walk hurriedly down the hall toward him. She stared at him, her brilliant blue eyes sparkling beneath her thick black glasses.

"I," he paused. "I don't know."

She sighed, "Come inside." She pulled him into her classroom which was a huge lecture hall. It was empty, for the time being at least. She put the papers she had been carrying down on her desk and looked back at him.

"Sheldon," she finally smiled, almost relieved. "What are you doing here?"

He glanced down at his feet for a moment then back up at her, "You just left." He didn't mean to say it like that and now he regretted it seeing her reaction. She looked so dejected and guilty.

"Sheldon," she sighed looking down.

"Don't," he blurted out. "I'll go. I was wrong to have come here. Goodbye, Kath- Dr. Thrice," he turned and headed for the door.

"No! Sheldon, stop!" She grabbed his hand. "Sheldon, I never meant to hurt you."

"I know," he said without turning back to her.

She let go of his hand and he continued toward the door.

"You'd like him," she said before he could leave.

"Your husband," he choked out.

"Yes," she said guiltily. "He thinks you're brilliant."

Sheldon stayed still in front of the closed door, not saying a word.

"I miss you," she whispered.

Sheldon closed his eyes and let the words fill him with joy and sadness, "Does he love you?" Sheldon had no idea where those words had come from but he said them before he could process it.

Katherine stood in shocked silence.

Sheldon turned to her, "Does he?"

She didn't say anything, just stared at the man in front of her in sad silence.

"So then why did you come back here?" Sheldon took a few long strides toward her, filling the gap between them. He was only a few inches from her now.

"I don't expect you to understand-"

"Understand what, Katherine?"

"We've been married for three years, I can't just walk away from that."

"Are you happy?"

"Sheldon…"

"Are you?"

"What do you want from me, Sheldon?"

"I want you, Katherine."

The two stood barely an inch away from one another in shocked silence.

"I love you, Katherine," Sheldon whispered staring down at her hands which were clasped tightly in front of her stomach.

"Sheldon," she choked out.

"I do, Katherine. And _I_ can't just walk away from that," he stared at her, his eyes filled with hope.

"I…I…" she tried to speak but the words kept getting caught in her throat. She closed her eyes and pulled him toward her, placing a hard kiss on his lips. This kiss was like none of the others; this one was long and passionate and continued longer than any other. His hands wrapped around her waist hungrily and he kissed back eagerly. Tears were streaming down her face as they kissed, Sheldon pulled away and looked at her, "What?"

She laughed, more tears falling from her face, "I'm happy with you, Sheldon."

Sheldon smiled, "I'm happy with you too, Katherine."

"I love you," she whispered kissing him again.

"I love you, too," he whispered back. And for the first time in so long Sheldon felt truly happy again.


	13. Chapter 13

Katherine promised to meet him at the hotel he was staying at later that night when she was done with her classes. Sheldon waited outside of the classroom Amy had walked into. When the students started to file out, he grabbed the orange bobbed girl on her shoulder.

She jumped when she saw him, "What the hell? Oh, Dr. Cooper, um hi?"

"You need to help me get back to where I was," he said blatantly.

"Oh, um," she glanced at who he presumed were her friends who threw her a confused look. "Sure," she smiled, looking back at him.

Sheldon nodded and followed her out of the building, "Aren't you going to buy that large man a coffee?"

"I have a class again at five tonight, I'll bring it to him then," Amy assured.

Sheldon kept pace with her back to the subway station and rode back the four stops to where he had gotten on the subway with her.

"You know where you're going?" Amy questioned.

"Yes, I'll be fine now," Sheldon paused. "Thank you."

Amy smirked, "Sure, no problem."

"Well," Sheldon glanced at his watch. _Ten thirty. They will all just be waking up. _"I have to get back to my friends. Good bye."

"Oh, right," Amy looked away and then back at him. "Good bye."

Sheldon felt awkward, "Is there a social protocol here that I'm missing?"

"Um, excuse me?" Amy asked.

"I'm not very good at people or their behaviors…should I have asked you to come with me?" Sheldon guessed.

"Well…" Amy started. "Maybe, I guess…"

"Oh," Sheldon proclaimed surprised. "Would you like to meet my friends?"

Amy smirked, "Sure."

And the two were off toward the hotel room.

* * *

"How did we lose him, already!" Leonard was in a panic trying to call Sheldon's cell phone which kept going to voice mail.

"Well, it shouldn't be our job to watch him!" Penny was in the bathroom trying to get ready for the day ahead.

"Maybe he just went for a walk," Raj suggested, who was already drinking a mimosa (champagne and orange juice).

"Or maybe, this is just a huge reach, but maybe he tried to talk to Katherine?" Howard threw out.

"Oh good lord, he probably ended up in Harlem or something trying to get there!" Leonard exclaimed.

"Well you're all just so dramatic," Sheldon was standing in the doorway.

"Sheldon! Where the hell were you?" Leonard was exasperated.

"And who, may I ask, is this?" Raj raised an eyebrow and walked toward Amy. "Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali, Astrophysicist."

"Um, Amy Jackson," Amy smiled. "Is everyone here a doctor?"

"He's not," Sheldon pointed to Howard who immediately rolled his eyes and sat on the bed. Penny walked out of the bathroom, "And neither is she." In which Penny replied by smiling and waving.

"Great," Amy smiled awkwardly.

"Sheldon, where were you," Leonard asked again.

"I went to talk with Katherine," he said simply.

"And?" Penny pushed.

"And she's meeting us all here tonight after her classes," Sheldon said proudly.

"Okay," Leonard continued. "And who did you kidnap?" He indicated to Amy.

"Oh, no," Amy jumped in. "He couldn't figure out the subway, so I helped him and then he invited me back here."

"And you came?" Howard raised an eyebrow. "Voluntarily?"

"Um…" she looked at Sheldon for some sort of an answer but he had moved to the desk in the room and was on his laptop.

"Tell me, Amy," Raj placed an arm around her shoulder. "Have you ever been told you were beautiful in perfect Hindi?"

Amy smiled, "Have you ever been told what a tool you were in perfect Klingon?"

"No," Raj said, a now surprised look across his face. "But I promise you that would be extremely sexy."


	14. Chapter 14

**_Author's Note:_** This is the final installment to this series. Although, if you liked Amy and are a Raj fan, expect a spin-off of this series into a new series very soon. For now, enjoy the final chapter of The Starbuck Experience.

* * *

The group spent the hours waiting for Katherine in different parts of the city. Howard and Raj went with Amy to a local comic book store and Penny and Leonard left for a day of shopping. Sheldon spent the day in the hotel room contently on his computer on various forums. He was happy again.

When four o'clock came rolling around, Raj and Howard returned to the hotel room shortly after Leonard and Penny had gotten back. Amy had left to go to class but not before a half drunken Raj convinced her to give him her number.

"Her last class should have ended about an hour and half hour ago," Sheldon glanced at his watch.

"She's meeting us here?" Leonard asked.

"That's what I said earlier," Sheldon replied condescendingly.

And just like that, like they all had remembered, three concise knocks rapped on the door. Sheldon stood and opened the door to find Katherine smiling, three suitcases around her.

"You're late," Sheldon said staring down at her.

Katherine smiled, "I just ended my marriage, cut me some slack." Sheldon shifted uncomfortably, causing Katherine to take his hands in her's, "I've never been happier, Sheldon. Don't ever think otherwise. This is exactly what I want. I promise. I can't wait to get back to California with you. You think they'll take me back at the University?"

Sheldon smiled at her, "They'd be crazy not to."

And like that, Sheldon's world came to an order he was finally happy with. He had his friends, and most importantly, he had Katherine. And that's all he would ever need.

_**The End.**_


End file.
